*-------Original Message-------*
 Subject: Fw: The life of a Hurricane

    *The short - but eventful - life of Ike
*<http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/the_short_but_eventful_life_...>
In its brief lifespan of only 13 days, Hurricane Ike wreaked great deal of
havoc. Affecting several countries including Cuba , Haiti , and the United
States , Ike is blamed for approximately 114 deaths (74 in Haiti alone), and
damages that are still being tallied, with estimates topping $10 billion.
Many shoreline communities of Galveston , Texas were wiped from the map by
the winds, storm surge and the walls of debris pushed along by Ike - though
Galveston was spared the level of disaster it suffered in 1900.

*A horse grazes beside a house, surrounded by floodwater, near Winnie ,
Texas after Hurricane Ike, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008. Ike was the first major
storm to directly hit a major U.S. metro area since Hurricane Katrina
devastated New Orleans in 2005. (AP Photo/Pool, Smiley N. Pool) *

*Image of Hurricane Ike on September 10, 2008, taken by the crew of the
International Space Station, flying 220 miles above Earth. Ike barreled into
the densely populated Texas coast near Houston early September 13, 2008,
bringing with it a wall of water and ferocious winds and rain that flooded
large areas along the Gulf of Mexico and paralyzed the fourth-largest U.S.
city. (REUTERS/NASA/Handout) *

*Ike passed over Cuba and Haiti prior to its landfall in Texas . This is a
view of the flooded waterflont in Baracoa , eastern Cuba on September 7,
2008. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) *

*This image from September 8, 2008 was provided by the U.S. Navy. Homes seen
in Port De Paix , Haiti remain flooded after four storms in one month have
devastated the area and killed more than 800 people. The amphibious assault
ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) has been diverted from the scheduled Continuing
Promise 2008 humanitarian assistance deployment in the western Caribbean to
conduct hurricane relief operations in Haiti . (Emmitt Hawks/U.S. Navy via
Getty Images) *

*The surge before the storm swamps Galveston Island , Texas , and a fire
destroys homes along the beach as Hurricane Ike approaches Friday, Sept. 12,
2008. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) *

*An alligator is seen crossing a road in Sabine Pass , Texas , Sunday, Sept.
14, 2008, as the area recovers from the effects of Hurricane Ike. (AP
Photo/Eric Gay) *

*Flooding over access road 523 to Surfside beach, caused by Hurricane Ike
forming in the Gulf of Mexico, is seen near Surfside Beach , Texas September
12, 2008. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria) *

*Homes and businesses on the Clear Creek Channel in Seabrook are surrounded
by rising water from Galveston Bay on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008 after
Hurricane Ike passed through overnight as a Category 2 storm. (AP Photo/The
Galveston County Daily News, Kevin M. Cox) *

*With Hurricane Ike offshore, Michael Gardner walks in high water in front
of a burning marina warehouse in Galveston , Texas , Friday, Sept. 12, 2008.
Fire fighters could not reach the structure so they allowed the structure to
burn. (AP Photo/LM Otero) *

*People ride in the back of a pickup truck through floodwaters from
Hurricane Ike Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008 in High Island , Texas . (AP
Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool) *

*A single home is left standing among debris from Hurricane Ike September
14, 2008 in Gilchrist , Texas . Floodwaters from Hurricane Ike were
reportedly as high as eight feet in some areas causing widespread damage
across the coast of Texas . (David J. Phillip-Pool/Getty Images) *

*An overturned car sits in floodwaters from Hurricane Ike September 14, 2008
in Gilchrist , Texas . (PHILLIP/AFP/Getty Images) *

*A house sits among debris, piled up by storm surges after Hurricane Ike
made landfall September 14, 2008 in Crystal Beach, Texas . (DAVID J.
PHILLIP/AFP/Getty Images) *

*Flooding from Hurricane Ike inundates a high school football field in the
town of Delcambre , La. Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Richard Alan
Hannon, pool) *

*Hurricanes can leave strange debris, from winds, waves, or fleeing
residents. Here, an animal skull and antlers are seen in the middle of the
road after Hurricane Ike in Bridge City , Texas., Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon) *

*Oil slicks in floodwater surround a pumpjack September 14, 2008 in High
Island , Texas . Hurricane Ike made landfall yesterday morning at Galveston
causing widespread wind and flood damage along the Texas and Louisiana
coasts. (Smiley N. Pool/AFP/Getty Images) *

*Eddie Settlocker assesses damage caused by Hurricane Ike at an apartment
complex he manages September 14, 2008 in Galveston, Texas . (Scott
Olson/Getty Images) *

*A cat looks down from a a tree in the flooded West End section of
Galveston, Texas, after hurricane Ike hit the area Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008.
(AP Photo/LM Otero) *

*Greg Schenck struggles to remove debris from a drain on North Main Street
just north of downtown Houston after the passage of Hurricane Ike, Saturday,
Sept. 13, 2008. (AP / Houston Chronicle, Smiley N. Pool) *

*A woman walks through a flooded neighborhood street, Sunday, Sept. 14,
2008, in Orange , Texas . Hurricane Ike's surge overcame the levee along the
Sabine River that flows by Orange causing widespread flooding to the city.
(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) *

*A man inspects the damage in front of the JP Morgan Chase Tower after
Hurricane Ike passed through the city September 13, 2008 in Houston Texas .
Hurricane Ike made landfall in the middle of the night causing widespread
damage. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) *

*A building maintenance worker walks over shattered glass from windows blown
out by Hurricane Ike on the JPMorgan Chase tower Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008 in
Houston . (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) *

*A cemetery flooded by storm surge from Hurricane Ike is shown, Saturday,
Sept. 13, 2008, in Galveston , Texas . (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) *

*The Hollywood Community Cemetery is seen with several caskets scattered
about after surfacing due to flood waters caused by Hurricane Ike, Sunday,
Sept. 14, 2008, in Orange , Texas . (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) *

*Search and rescue workers drive down a flooded road as they search the
Sabine Pass area of Port Arthur , Texas , Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008 following
Hurricane Ike. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) *

*A house burns uncontrolled in a flooded neighborhood as Hurricane Ike
approaches the Texas coast, Friday, Sept. 12, 2008, in Galveston , Texas .
(AP Photo/Matt Slocum) *

*A bulldozer clears debris along Interstate 45 after Hurricane Ike hit
September 13, 2008 in Galveston , Texas . Hurricane Ike has caused losses of
between eight and 18 billion dollars, according to early estimates from risk
assessment companies on September 13, 2008. (DAVID J. PHILLIP/AFP/Getty
Images) *

U.S. Air Force Pararescueman Staff Sgt. Lopaka Mounts, assigned to the 331st
Air Expeditionary Group, receives a hug from a resident during search and
rescue operations after Hurricane Ike in Galveston , Texas September 13,
2008. (REUTERS/U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. James L. Harper Jr./Handout)

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